Store-service apparatus.



. L. Be BETHARDS. STORE SERVICE APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED SBF120,1909.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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L. B. BBTHARDS.' STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1913.9.4 955,629. 1

1V if@ Patented Apr. 19,1910.

LONZO B. BE'IHARDS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 19, 1910.

Application led September 20, 1909. Serial No. 518,650.

T o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LoNzo B. Bieri-ninos, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inStore-Service Apparatus, of which the following is a description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, in which corresponding numerals of reference in thedifferent figures indicate like parts.

In the use of store service apparatus, in which cars having detachablereceptacles are operated upon wire-ways, it has heretofore been founddifficult to maintain a proper relation between the catch mechanism bymeans of which the car is arrested and locked in a stationary positionand the elevating mechanism. It has also been found difficult tomaintain a satisfactory relation between the usual elevating stirrup andfork or locking mechanism so as to insure a perfect locking actionbetween the basket and car when the former is elevated. Moreover, itfrequently occurs that the car is forwarded by the propelling mechanismbefore the receptacle is locked thereto.

The object of my invention is to overcome these several objections andto provide simple and eective means for causing the elevating mechanismto maintain an unvarying relation to the car and catch device, as wellas to provide means for preventing the car from being prematurelyforwarded.

'Io these ends my invention consists in the combination of elementshereinafter more particularly described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car, an elevated wayand an elevatinf` device embodying the features of my inc n n n vention;Fig. 2 1s a plan view of the stop mechanism and pulleys, by means ofwhich the car may be arrested and the receptacle nected fittings 3 and4L having wires 5 raised and lowered; Fig. 21 is a side elevation of acar, a detachable basket and an elevating device; Fig. 3 is a sideelevation showing a modied construction, and Figs. 4f and 5 are similarviews of modifications.

Referring to the drawings, 1, Fig. 1, represents the usual hanger forsupporting one end of a wire-way, upon which is swiveled a fitting 2, towhich in turn is jointedly cnrespectively, attached to their forwardends. A car 7 1s mounted upon the wire 6, said car being provided with aspring controlled yoke 8, at each end thereof, of well knownconstruction, the same being pivoted to lugs 9. A catch 10 has its rearend rigidly attached to a cross-bar 11, the ends of which are rigidlysecured to parallel rods 12, Figs. 1 and 2, having sliding bearings independing arms 13, which are integral with the part 4t. An arm 14 isformed upon the part 10, said arm having a bore in its upper end throughwhich is loosely projected the wire 6, thereby holding the catch at alltimes at a fixed distance from the wire. The usual buffer-springs 15 and16 are mounted upon the rods 12 upon opposite-sides of the arms 13. Across-bar 1( is also attached to the rear ends of the rods 12 to holdthem parallel. The rods 12 are bent laterally as shown at 1S, Fig. 2,and thence forwardly and upwardly as shown at 19 to form parallelsupporting extensions, are secured fittings 2O having pulley-wheels 21journaled thereon. The usual elevating cords 22, are trained overpulleys 23 supported by brackets upon the hanger 1, Fig. 1, thence overthe pulleys 21 and downwardly through guide holes in extensions 24C inthe fittings 20 to the usual stirrup 25, by means of which the ordinarybasket 25a, Fig. 2a, is raised and lowered to the locking head or fork26 which contains the usual autoupon the ends of which matic lockingmechanism for detachably connecting the basket to the car comprising atilting locking-dog 25b adapted to engage cross-bars 25c all of wellknown construction.

A cross-bar 27, Fig. 2, has a depending portion 28, Fig. 1, through abore in which t-he wire 5 is extended, so that through the action of therods 19 a fixed distance between the wires 5 and 6 is maintained.

It is obvious that in the absence of the supporting bars 19, the releaseof the basket from the car would permit the latter to rise while at thesame time the pulleys 21 would be lowered by reason of the transferthereto of the weight through the action of the elevating cords, therebydisturbing the relation between the stirrup and locking meching thebasket, the interlocking elements may thus be prevented from engaging'or the yoke S may be disengaged from the catch. lVhen the basket israised an excessive force is often exerted upon the elevating cords inorder to insure the engagement of the lock, which increases thedistortion described. It will be seen, however, that when the connectingarms 19 are used any excessive stress upon the pulleys 21 will besustained in part by the wire (3 so that whether' the load be upon thebasket or pul leys, the relation of the pulleys, the wire G and othereoacting parts will remain unchanged.

In the example illustrated the' propelling mechanism is that shown anddescribed in Letters Patent to me, No. 927,212, and consists briefly ofa trolley 29 upon the wire 5 having a loop 30 adapted to engage the part8, and a propelling cord 31 attached to the forward end of the trolleyand trained over a pulley 32 upon the end of a tubular arm 33 attachedto the forward end of the part 3. Said cord is carried over pulley 34,beneath a wheel upon a block 35, over a. pulley 36 and back to the block3:3, to which a pull-cord 3T is attached.

lf, .in operating the device, the cord 37 is pulled before the basket islocked to the car through the action of the elevating cord, the car willbe forwarded without the basket, thereby causing annoyance and delay.This contingency may be avoided by the following means: Extending`rearwardly from the part 28 are parallel arms 3S to which is pivot-ed at39 a` lever 40 having a hook 41 at its forward end. The rear portion ofthe lever is bifurcated so as to form arms 42 having pulleys f3 upontheir ends adapted to rest upon those portions of the elevating cords22, which extend between the pulleys 21 and 23. The weight of the armsand pulleys serve normally to depress the cords to the positionindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, thereby tilting the forward end ofthe lever 40 and raising' the hook 41 above the frame 411 of the car,which is free to pass under the same and to be brought into lockingengagement with the stop 10 without engaging the hook. As soon, however,as the elevating cord is placed under tension for releasing the basket,the pulleys 43 are lifted thereby, which results in tilting the forwardend of the lever downwardly sufficient to bring' the hook 4:1 intoengagement with the body of the car, where it remains until the tensionupon the elevating cords is released. Iliasmuch as this cannot occuruntil the basket is locked to the car, it follows that the latter cannotbe forwarded by the action of the propelling mechanism until the lockingis effected and the elevating cords permitted to relax. Then this occursthe car is free to be forwarded.

In Fig. 3 is shown a modified construction in which, all other featuresremaining the same, the lever 415 is pivoted higher up and its short armLf6 is extended farther forward so as to engage the rear end 47, of thetrolley frame when the cord 22 is under tension, it being' manifestlyimmaterial, so far as results are concerned, whether the lock be apliedto the car or to the propulsion mechanism.

ik further modification is shown in Fig. 4, in which a rod 4S, having ahook 19 upon its forward end, is pivoted at 50 to an arm 51 extendingrearwardly from the pulley support. A bail 52 serves to limit thedownward movement of the rod. The hook acts by gravity, and is adaptedto engage a pin upon the car when the latter is at the station duringthe time when the basket is released from the car. A loop 541 is formedupon the bar through which the cord 22 is loosely passed. A collar 55upon the cord is adjusted to engage the loop and hold the hook out ofengagement with the pin during the time the basket is locked to the car.This result is accomplished by means of a counterweight 5G upon the cord22, which causes the collar 55 to engage the hook and hold the hooknormally out of engagement with the pin.

A still further modification is shown in Fig. in which the auxiliarywire 5 is omitted, it being obvious that the pulley supports 19 willserve to maintain the proper relation between the elevating' mech- 100anlsm and the car, and furt-her, that said device is independent of thecharacter of the propelling' means employed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a store-service apparatus of the class described, the combinationwith a car mounted upon an elevated way and provided with a detachablereceptacle, of a buffer-stop, elevating cords for raising and loweringthe 110 receptacle, pulleys for supporting said cords, and means forcausing' said pulleys to move back and forth with said buffer stop whenthe latter is moved from its normal position by the impact of the car.115

2. ln al device of the class described, the combination of an elevatedway, a car, a buffer-stop, a detachable receptacle, elevating cords forraising and lowering said receptacle to and from the car, pulleys forsaid 120 elevating cords, and means rigidly attached to said buffer stopto form the sole support for said pulleys.

3. In a store-service apparatus, an elevated way, a car mounted thereon,a spring- 125 controlled buffer-stop and catch, a detachable basket,means for locking the same to the car, a stirrup, elevating cordsconnected therewith, pulleys therefor in the vertical plane of thelocking mechanism upon the 130 Acar in combination with supporting meansrigidly attached to and supported by said buffer-stop for supportingsaid pulleys.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with an elevatedway, a car mounted thereon, a buffer-stop, a catch for arresting andholding the car in a stationary position, a detachable basket, means forlocking said basket to the car, basket elevating cords, pulleystherefor, pulley supporting means rigidly attached to said buffer-stop,an auxiliary locking mechanism for preventing the forwarding of the carwhile the basket is detached and means controlled by v said elevatingcords for normally holding said auxiliary locking mechanism out ofengagement.

5. The combination with an elevated way, a car having a detachablebasket and means for locking the same to the car, of propulsionmechanism, basket elevating cords, and a hook pivoted to a stationarypoint, said hook being in operative connection with the elevating cordsfor preventing the forwarding of the car when the basket is unlockedtherefrom.

6. The combination with an elevated Way, a car having a detachablebasket and locking mechanism for locking the basket to the car, ofpropulsion mechanism, basket elevating cords, and a pivoted leverelement weighted at one end, said Weighted end being connected with saidcords to hold them normally in a predetermined posit-ion while theopposite ends of said lever is provided with a hook for preventing theforwarding of the car when the weighted end is lifted by the tension ofsaid cords.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses, this 18th day of September LONZO B.BETI-IARDS. Witnesses:

D. H. FLETCHER, Gamma E. JORDAN.

